Solar Dyeing: Nice and Easy with Leonie Andrews

Solar dyeing is probably the easiest method of dyeing you'll ever try. The key ingredient is time. Follow along as I help you set up your solar dyeing project. A list of what you will need to try this out is included below. 0.00 Introduction to solar dyeing 1.37 The difference between dyeing and printing with plants 4.22 What fabrics to use 7.04 Preparing your fabric 8.54 Packing your jar 11.03 Adding hot water 13.16 Final comments and suggestions What you will need for Solar Dyeing: A clean glass jar with a good metal lid Some boiling water to put in your dye jar (at the end of the process) Plant material to dye with, such as brown or red onion skins (warm browns); eucalyptus leaves (yellows, brown or oranges depending on the type of tree); avocado pits (peach tones), or purple avocado shells (pink tones). Fabrics such as wool, silk cotton, linen, hemp, bamboo or rayon -- wool and silk give the best results for dyeing; -- cotton, linen, hemp, bamboo and rayon can be dyed but give lighter colours : old /re-cycled fabric or clothing that has been well washed will give a better result : new cotton fabric must be washed in the washing machine on a hot cycle to remove any treatment to the fabric before you use it for dyeing. ** SYNTHETIC FABRICS CANNOT BE USED FOR THIS PROCESS** Threads such as cotton embroidery floss, mercerised or crochet cotton, silk, wool or cotton knitting yarn can also be dyed using this method.